Petersburg National Battlefield Photos

Petersburg National Battlefield circles south around the town of Petersburg, following the lines where the South made its final stand. Grant's troops arrived at this back door to Richmond on June 15, 1864, but Union commanders failed to act quickly enough. Grant resorted to a siege which lasted until April, 1865. During those months the South starved, while Union troops were supplied by a vast fleet of ships arriving at nearby Hopewell, where supplies were loaded directly onto rail cars on specially built track running to the front. One noted action during the siege was the Battle of the Crater on July 30, 1864. Union sappers had tunneled under Confederate lines with the intent of charging through the gap. However, troops were trapped in the resulting crater and the Southern lines held. The Battlefield is now run by the National Park Service.